About to make platinum, will there be any benefits??

[Isabelj28]

Hi team

I’m going to make platinum for the first time ever (yay!) and my first flight will be mel-Nadi. Is there anything different or special I could look out for that I wouldn’t have had when gold?? Thanks so much!

 

[Bolthead]

Row 3, 4 & 5.... that's about it.

 

[Isabelj28]

Row 3, 4 & 5.... that's about it.

Oh well, that’s better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick! Thanks BH

 

[cqtiger]

Upgrade to business seat if available as long as you book freedom fare.
Much better service on the phone if any issues

 

[Isabelj28]

Thx CQT, no freedom on this one... and “hopefully” won’t need the phone assistance but thx for the reply

 

[DC3]

Hi team

I’m going to make platinum for the first time ever (yay!) and my first flight will be mel-Nadi. Is there anything different or special I could look out for that I wouldn’t have had when gold?? Thanks so much!

Free-flowing champagne, recognised as a VIP, blocked seat next to you, unlimited upgrades, red carpet at the gate, rose petals scattered before you .... That sort of thing?

 

[Isabelj28]

All of the above please... and if someone would peel me some grapes as well, that would be terrific

 

[ausfox]

And when you wake from the dream?

 

[ja1]

So there is a web page at VA that spells out the actual benefits.. and worth reading.

In reality the biggest benefits (or at least the ones you might use the most?) are:

- Economy X availability for free (rows 3/4/5 and exit rows) on domestic routes
- You can take more guests into the lounge which is useful

Indirect things you don't notice but which are nice:
- You get more priority when calling the call centre (there's a separate set of people trained to deal with G/P)
- You earn more FF points with the WP bonus (double..)
- You're higher up the waitlist for things like upgrades
- And yes, if you have booked a fully flexible economy fare and business isn't full, you can get 4 (sector) upgrades for free. I've only ever used this a couple of times in a few years, sadly.. i.e it's mostly unused as I'm rarely booking full economy compared to elevate and almost never booking business..

There are lots of subtle things that may not make much difference but are there. On an international flight (SYD-LAX) sitting back in Y, I had staff checking on how I was and basically 'looking after' me. Puzzled my wife quite a bit until we worked out that I had status and she didn't and while they couldn't do anything in terms of which cabin I had paid for (fair enough) they have a script/training to look after WPs no matter which cabin they were travelling in.

it's nice while you have it that's for sure and one of the things that you miss when you drop back to simple gold.. which in reality is really not that different to WP in what you actually get..

 

[Harthagan]

No one has mentioned yet the warm fuzzy feeling of superiority that comes with top tier status.

But jokes aside, economy X is the main benefit I appreciate for someone who mainly travels domestic and needs the extra leg room

 

[DC3]

No one has mentioned yet the warm fuzzy feeling of superiority that comes with top tier status ....

... and, you are entitled to shout “DYKWIA” at all times, while feeling the fuzziness.

 

[Harthagan]

Hahaha. It is even encouraged in some circles.

 

[maccaisking]

Can book guaranteed reward economy seats for 4 people/year, including long haul routes. Very useful when travelling in peak times. Maybe less useful this year tho.

 

[knagelli]

Enjoy the feeling of being platinum , I am on my final leg today to hit platinum and yay welcome to the club mate

 

[pauly7]

Can book guaranteed reward economy seats for 4 people/year, including long haul routes. Very useful when travelling in peak times. Maybe less useful this year tho.

Exactly they will have none left....